▼ Summary
– A man in his 20s sought treatment for increasing floaters and flashing lights in his right eye, with no prior injuries or family history of eye disorders.
– Doctors found severe damage in both eyes, including retinal tears, bruising, and retinal dialysis in the right eye, and widespread bruising and six retinal rips in the left eye.
– The man admitted to using a percussive massage gun with a bullet-shaped attachment to soothe his tired eyes.
– The case was reported in a BMJ Case Report by ophthalmologists Niamh O’Connell and Ashraf Khan at an Edinburgh eye treatment center.
– The patient had mild near-sightedness but otherwise no previous eye problems, making the massage gun the likely cause of the injuries.
A man in his 20s arrived at an Edinburgh eye clinic with worsening floaters and flashing lights in his right eye, symptoms that had persisted for six days. He reported no prior eye or head injuries, no family history of eye disorders, and aside from mild nearsightedness corrected with glasses, his vision had been unremarkable. But when ophthalmologists Niamh O’Connell and Ashraf Khan examined him, they discovered damage far more severe than expected.
In his right eye, the man had multiple retinal tears, widespread retinal bruising, and a condition known as retinal dialysis,a break at the front junction of the retina typically seen after a significant blunt force trauma. His left eye showed even more extensive bruising and six full-thickness retinal rips. The pattern of injury was so unusual that doctors pressed him for any “untoward” incidents involving his eyes.
Reluctantly, the man admitted he had been using a percussive massage gun to soothe his tired eyes. He had attached a small, bullet-shaped head to the device and applied it directly to his closed eyelids. The repeated, high-impact vibrations from the gun caused the internal damage, mimicking the effects of a direct blow. The case, published in a BMJ Case Report, serves as a stark reminder that while rest can relieve eye strain, unconventional methods like this one carry serious risks. The man is now undergoing treatment for the tears and bruising, though long-term vision outcomes remain uncertain.
(Source: Ars Technica)
